Abandoned
by swiglo3000
Summary: AU Season 9, Moica is walking home from work one night and finds something that will change her life forever. CM and RR
1. Just a Noise

**Summary: Being the fool that I am I have decided to start another story. So here it goes, AU season 9, Chandler's in Tulsa, Ross and Rachel are living together and trying to work things out with Emma, Joey and Phoebe are the exact same. Here's the main summary Monica is walking home from work one night when she hears something. When she goes to see what it is she finds a little girl who was abandoned by her parents. I will tell you no more because it would ruin the story.**

**Disclaimer: I only own the girl**

Chapter 1: Just a Noise

Monica had just finished closing up the restaurant tonight; she didn't hurry since Chandler was stuck in Tulsa until tomorrow night. She was planning on surprising him with the best sex of his life when he got home. She felt just a twinge of sadness, 'We've been trying to have a baby for months I wish I could just get pregnant already' she thought as she turned the power of and locked the doors. As she began walking she thought of Emma, she loved her niece so much, but she did wish she had a little girl of her own.

Her apartment wasn't that far from where she was and it wasn't that late out, it was also nice night so instead of just catching a cab Monica decided to walk home. She started to walk when she was about halfway home when something caught her ears. 'What's that sound?' she thought to herself usually she would have just kept walking like most New Yorkers but then it got louder. 'What is that I know I've heard that sound before' she thought as she walked into an alley.

Monica usually wouldn't do this in fear of being raped but she had a feeling that she needed to see this. The sound got louder as she got closer to its source just then it hit Monica what that sound was 'It sounds like a kid is crying' Monica placed this thought at the back of her mind she couldn't think of it, it just made her feel sick. Monica came to the conclusion that the noise was coming from behind a dumpster, as she got close their was no mistaking the sound, 'It's a person' Monica thought. She looked behind the dumpster and was shocked at what she saw, there was a little girl no more than nine crying, she had dark black hair and looked under fed all she had on some old clothes with a light coat.

Monica felt shocked when she saw this 'Maybe the girl is lost' she thought hoping that was the case. "H-hello" Monica said trying to find her voice, the girl looked up at her and began to cry even more. "Where are your parent's?" Monica asked trying to get anything from the girl "Coming back" the girl replied, "Are you lost?" Monica asked. "Told me to stay" was all she said. Monica's heart broke at this, her parents had just left her here and told her that they were coming back; even if they were they couldn't just leave a girl in an alley.

"My name is Monica, what's yours?" she asked trying to find out more, the girl looked up at her; she had beautiful green eyes that were filled with hurt. "M-my n-n-name is Elizabeth" she looked frightened but was willing to trust this woman who had just come up. "Are you cold?" Monica asked trying to get this girl to trust her, Elizabeth shook her head yes. "Do you want to come home with me?" Monica asked, at this statement Elizabeth curled up into a ball and started crying again. 'Of course she was taught to stay away from strangers' Monica thought.

"Elizabeth I won't hurt you I just want to help you" Monica pleaded. Elizabeth looked at this woman she seemed like she really wanted to help her but her mother told her never to talk to strangers. Elizabeth looked around quickly her mother wasn't anywhere is sight and she was cold. She nodded and said "I'll go with you" she wasn't sure if this was a smart choice but she took a chance.

Monica nodded in satisfaction "Can you walk?" Elizabeth tried to but could barely stand. "Let me carry you" Monica said, Elizabeth nodded, Monica picked her up, she was sickened by how light Elizabeth was no girl should weigh this little. "My apartment is a close to here, how old are you?" Monica asked trying to find out more about her. Elizabeth held up eight fingers, "That old, Elizabeth do you have a last name?" Monica asked. Elizabeth nodded, "What is it?" Monica asked "Smith" 'That narrows it down' Monica thought to herself.

They reached her apartment a little while later, Elizabeth who had previously been asleep woke up. Elizabeth look frightened she was beginning to shake Monica tried to calm her down, eventually she did. "Calm down, you remember me right?" Monica asked, Elizabeth did remember Monica but thought that everything that had happened was a dream. Monica entered her apartment with Elizabeth, "Do you like to be called Elizabeth or do you have a nickname?" "Elizabeth is fine" she said as she yawned. Monica looked over at the time, it was eleven, "I have a guest room you can stay in is that alright?" Monica asked, she didn't want Elizabeth to feel neglected.

"The floor is fine" Elizabeth said, after hearing that Monica wanted to cry, this poor, little girl had definitely been abused. "No it's not, tell you want how about you take the guest room bed" Elizabeth felt amazed as Monica said this she had never slept in a real bed before and she wasn't about to miss this chance. "Yes!" she screamed, Monica smiled just a little bit at that while her heart was breaking, she went and opened the door. "It's late how about you just go to bed" Elizabeth nodded, went to the room, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Monica sighed she knew she should have called the police but she just couldn't tonight. Elizabeth needed at least one good night of sleep before she got the police involved. She didn't feel like getting cleaned up she just went to bed wondering how she would explain why an eight year old girl was staying with her for at least one night.

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	2. Meeting New People

**AN: So I am getting another chapter up today after all which is good. Next Chapter will be more between the friends this is just a filler to get somestuff out of the way.Thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I just own Elizabeth and not Friends**

Chapter 2: Meeting New People

Monica woke up the next morning and felt a small figure sobbing softly next to her. "Elizabeth what's wrong?" Monica asked worried why she wouldn't wake her up. "Bad dream, didn't want to wake you" she replied as she calmed down a little bit. "Honey you don't have to worry about waking me up if you have a bad dream just tell me alright" Elizabeth nodded in understanding. Monica took a look at the clock it was seven and everyone would be over soon. "Elizabeth some people are coming over soon so we have to get up" Monica explained, Elizabeth looked afraid Monica noticed this and said "It's o.k. I know them they won't hurt you" Monica said, Elizabeth calmed down again when she heard this.

"Is there anything special you want for breakfast?" Monica asked, Elizabeth looked underfed and Monica wanted to get some food in her. Elizabeth looked confused like she had never been asked that question before. "Have you ever had waffles?" Monica asked, Elizabeth shook her head no, "Then waffles it is" "Can I go to the bathroom?" was Elizabeth's response. "It's not can, it's may and yes you may its right over there" Monica said and pointed to the bathroom. Elizabeth ran to go, just as she did that the apartment door opened and in came Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey. "Hey Mon where's breakfast?" Joey asked.

"Breakfast is on its way Joey just be patient" Monica said she was a little nervous telling everyone about Elizabeth but she would have to eventually. "Listen guys something big happened last night" Monica started but was interrupted by Phoebe, "You're pregnant" she said as more of a statement than a question. "No that's not what happened" she started again but this time was interrupted by the bathroom door opening, and a little girl coming out running over to Monica and clinging to her for dear life. All of her friends felt a wave of shock come over them as they saw this little girl next to Monica. "Mon why do you have a little girl?" Rachel asked, "Yeah I now you wanted one but you didn't have to steal her" Ross added.

"First of all her name is Elizabeth Smith, and I didn't steal her while I was walking home last night" Monica started she got a look from Ross that said 'Why did you walk home alone' but continued, "I found her in an alley and I'm guessing her parents just left her there" Monica finished. She didn't want to say Elizabeth was abandoned right in front of her. "Mon somebody could be looking for her" Ross said, "Where was she better off last night on the streets or here?" Monica asked. Ross thought for a second but decided that Monica did do the right thing. "When are you going to call the police?" Rachel asked, "Later today" Monica responded.

"Elizabeth these are all of my friends they won't hurt you o.k." Monica said, Elizabeth nodded and loosened her grip a little bit but still stayed close to Monica. When breakfast was served everybody began to eat except Elizabeth she just played around with her food. "Elizabeth aren't you hungry?" Monica asked, Elizabeth nodded yes, "Then just eat something" this was the approval Elizabeth had been waiting for; she practically inhaled the rest of her meal. Everyone looked on with sad smiles on there faces, what kid needed approval to eat. Everyone finished the rest of the meal, "Mon you really should call the police now" Ross said, "I know I'm going to" Monica said as she called the police.

Monica called the police and they said they would be sending somebody over. Everyone stayed and waited, Joey because he had nothing better to do, Phoebe because she wanted to see what would happen, Ross and Rachel because they just felt like staying. Elizabeth had been sitting there silently the whole time, which was kind of unnerving no little girl should ever be that quiet. A little while later there was a knock on the door, Monica got it and was surprised to see who it was on the other side.

It was the officer Phoebe had dated a while back, Gary. "Hey guys so what's the problem here" he said as if Phoebe being there didn't phase him. "Well Gary I was walking home last night and found this little girl" and then whispered "I think her parents abandoned her" she really didn't want Elizabeth to here that. "Let's see about that, what's your name?" he asked Elizabeth. She was nervous about talking to this new man, she looked over at Monica, Monica nodded in approval, "My name is Elizabeth Smith" she started off quietly. "Do you know your address" she shook her head no "They never told me" "Do you know your parents first names?" Gary asked. "Mommy and daddy" she answered confused, "How did you end up in the alley where Monica found you?" "Mommy and daddy told me they were going to do something and to stay there" she answered.

"Thank you Elizabeth I have all I need to know" Gary said, Elizabeth nodded her head and ran back over to Monica. "What happens know?" Monica asked, "Well I could but her in an orphanage and make her part of the system until we find her parents but if they are guilty she would go into foster care" Elizabeth heard this and looked confused, "D-does that mean I have to leave Monica's?" she asked her voice filled with fear as she held on to Monica as tight as she could. "Usually I would say yes but since I know you I can pull some strings and she can stay you" Gary said, "You don't have to do that" Phoebe said, "I want to, I know she'll be safe here and she wants to stay here" Gary answered, "Someone will be over in a couple of days to check and be sure" Gary said. "I'll be in contact" he said as he left.

"Does that mean I can stay?" Elizabeth asked, "Yes you can" Monica answered. A big smile came across her face, "Mon do you really think this is a good idea?" Rachel asked. "You know what happens to kids put in foster care and even if it's only temporary at least I can help her" Monica answered. They all nodded in agreement this really was the best thing for her, the only thing that made Monica nervous was telling Chandler why a little girl would be living with them.

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	3. More Reactions and Chandler

**AN: I'm very sorry but this may be the ONLY update for ANY of my stories this weekend. My sister has a kidney infection and she is at the hospital. My parents are up in Dallas so I'm home picking up some stuff she needs and heading back. Sorry and thanks for all the reviews, because of this I will try to update during the week.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Elizabeth.**

Chapter 3: More Reactions and Chandler

Monica had taken a day off work today to spend time with Elizabeth. Rachel with Emma, Phoebe, and Joey all had too; Ross couldn't though he was giving some speech or something today that he couldn't miss. Elizabeth was fascinated by all these people who took an interest in her. At home she had never gotten that much attention so these strangers wanting to talk to her excited her beyond all belief.

Elizabeth loved this Monica woman for finding her and caring for her. Her own mom had never cared for her this much before. Elizabeth found Phoebe very strange and kid like, she loved her for that. Rachel she didn't really like, it was mainly because she had brought a baby over and talked about clothes, and she really didn't like clothes that much. Joey was like a big teddy bear he was just fun to play with.

"So Elizabeth were did you used to live?" Rachel asked wondering about this girl's history. Elizabeth paused a second before asking "What do you mean?" "What was your address?" Rachel asked. The word address made Elizabeth even more confused, she was starting to get scared. Any time she took too long to answer question at home she was hit, she didn't want to make these people mad, things were going so well and she was about to ruin them.

Luckily Monica, seeing how much trouble Elizabeth was having, quickly said "Don't worry about it, I'm sure the police will tell us something" Elizabeth calmed down after that. It broke all of their hearts to see a little girl that afraid. There was something that Elizabeth had been wondering but was afraid to ask, figuring that this was the best time to she asked her question. "Monica are you married?" she wasn't really sure if she was, it looked like she could be, but Elizabeth just wanted to be sure. "Yes, my husband's name is Chandler" Elizabeth giggled "That's a funny name" she said.

"Where is he?" Elizabeth asked, 'If Monica is married why isn't he here?' she thought to herself. "He's in Tulsa" Monica noticed a confused look on Elizabeth and said "That's a city in Oklahoma" Elizabeth nodded. "You know you're still in the same clothes you were in yesterday, how about we go shopping for some new ones?" Monica asked. Despite the fact that Elizabeth didn't really like clothes that much but new ones would be great, she nodded yes.

After an afternoon of shopping they all returned back to Monica's apartment. They had bought a whole new wardrobe for Elizabeth. Elizabeth was tired from the outing, Monica noticed this. "Thanks a lot you guys but Chandler will be home soon and I need to get ready" "Good luck" Joey said. "Mon, if you need something just call" Phoebe said, "I should be getting Emma home anyway" Rachel added as they all left. "How does pizza sound for dinner?" Monica asked, "What's pizza?" Elizabeth asked.

It took Monica a second to get over the shock "You've never had pizza before, you know bread, cheese, sauce, and toppings?" Elizabeth shook her head no. "Is it any good?" Elizabeth asked, "Yes it's good, I'll just get regular cheese for you to try and if you don't like it I'll make you something else" Monica said. That sounded good to Elizabeth, really any food that she could get she would eat. "What's Chandler like?" Elizabeth asked, she was very nervous about meeting him.

"He's a wonderful man and he'll love you" Monica said sensing that Elizabeth was worried about meeting Chandler. Suddenly the phone rang, Monica got it. "Hello" "Hey Mon" Chandler said, "I'll be home soon and we can try making that baby" Monica inwardly laughed at this 'there is no way we are making a baby tonight' she thought to herself. "Listen I ordered pizza tonight o.k." "Pizza, what no Monica surprise?" "Just be ready for pizza and another surprise, goodbye" Monica said hanging up the phone.

A little while later the pizza arrived and Monica opened the box. Immediately Elizabeth's mouth began to water at the smell of it. Pizza smelled great she couldn't wait to try some. She took a bite, she couldn't believe how good it was it was the best thing that she had ever eaten. Monica noticed this "That good?" she asked and Elizabeth nodded. "Monica is it just me how has Emma aged about nine years since I left?" a very shocked Chandler asked.

"Chandler this is Elizabeth" Monica told him as Elizabeth stared intently at the floor. "Why is she here?" Chandler asked and at that Elizabeth ran into the guest room. Monica sighed she was really hoping that this could have gone better. "Listen when I was walking home last night I found her abandoned and she's living with us now" Monica explained. Chandler felt his blood boil his own parents were never the best but a least they never abandoned him on the streets. "She must hate me now" he said. "She won't I'll get her out her and we'll talk to her and explain" Chandler nodded in agreement.

"Elizabeth Chandler didn't mean that, he was just surprised, come on out and have some more pizza" Monica begged. Elizabeth reluctantly opened the door, "He doesn't like me" Elizabeth whispered to Monica. "Yes he does, he was just shocked to see you, give him a chance" Monica said. Elizabeth took a look at Chandler he didn't seem big or mean and Monica did tell her to trust him. "Hey" Elizabeth said, just above a whisper to Chandler. "Hey nice to meet you Elizabeth" Chandler said, "Sorry about before I didn't mean to scare you" Elizabeth checked his voice to see if he was lying, when she determined that he was telling the truth and decided to trust him for now.

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	4. A Sound In the Night

**AN: Sorry about the lack of another update last week. I had to take care of my sister, but the one good thing that happened was that I had a chance to refresh my batteries. Thanks for all of the reviews and keep on reviewing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Friends related.**

Chapter 4: A Sound in The Night

The rest of the night went as good as it could, Elizabeth was still a little scared of Chandler. Monica couldn't figure out why she was afraid of him, Chandler was being as nice as he could to her but she was still cold to him. Chandler went on to tell them about Tulsa and how boring it was without Monica. That earned him a glare from Elizabeth.

After they were finished eating and got cleaned up Chandler went to take a shower. "Elizabeth, why don't you like Chandler?" Monica asked. She was worried how they were all going to live together if she hated him. "I don't know he reminds me of someone other man" Elizabeth said. "What did the other man do to you?" Monica asked with fear rising up within her.

Elizabeth looked down at the ground "I can't tell you" she said. "Just tell me when you're ready" Monica said, she didn't want to push Elizabeth away and she figured that she would tell her when she was ready. Elizabeth looked happy to see that it was dropped for the time being.

"Chandler really is a good guy" Monica said, "I know" was all that Elizabeth replied. A little while later Chandler was out of the shower. "So is Elizabeth going to be o.k. in the guest room?" Chandler asked. "She should be" Monica said, they both looked up at the time and saw that it was past ten. "Elizabeth you have to go to bed" Monica told her.

Elizabeth really didn't want to displease Monica so she did as she was told. After Monica got Elizabeth to bed for the night she spent some much needed time with Chandler. Monica spent the night in Chandler's arms watching T.V. until about eleven. At eleven they both went to bed for the night, Monica hadn't shared with Chandler what Elizabeth had said about the other man. It would be best to tell him about that when Elizabeth trusted him.

Elizabeth had been in a restless sleep for all of the night. She had been dreaming of when she was still at her old home. She couldn't really tell what was going on she just knew that whatever was happening was wrong and that scared her. She had woken up a couple of times during the night but was afraid to run to Monica with Chandler in there with her.

Elizabeth really didn't want to wake either of them up. When she had woken her pervious family up they would hit her. She was sure that if she woke them up one of them would throw her back out on the street or hit her. She really didn't want to go back to the streets it was scary out there. Eventually she had gotten so scared she couldn't get to sleep and needed someone to sooth her.

She wanted it to be last night when she could just lay next to Monica and feel safe. She looked over at the clock it was two in the morning and that was still too early. After about twenty minutes of sobbing silently she finally worked up the courage to go into Monica and Chandler's room. She tiptoed her way to the room and opened the door hoping to find them still awake.

Much to her dismay she found that they were both asleep. She looked for a spot on the bed to lie down but found no room. She knew that she would have to wake one of them up and decided on Monica because up to now she had been very nice to her. She began to shake Monica to wake her up.

Eventually Monica woke up "Who's there?" Monica asked squinting to see who it was. "Mon-Monica I h-had a bad-bad dream" Elizabeth nervously she closed her eyes and prepared herself to be hit. Instead of a fist meeting her she felt a warm hug wrap around her. "Come on" Monica said, Elizabeth was shocked by this. "But what about Chandler?" she asked not wanting to get Monica in trouble with her. "Its fine, Chandler won't mind" Monica told her.

Elizabeth seemed to calm down a little bit but was still very afraid that Chandler would do something to her or Monica. Monica felt Elizabeth shaking and began to hold her to calm her down. After a couple of minutes Elizabeth began to calm down, she felt safe in Monica's arms. A couple of minutes later both of them fell asleep for the night.

Chandler had woken up around the time that Monica had woken up but hadn't said a word. Mainly because he was deadly afraid of freaking out Elizabeth even more then she already was. When he had heard how scared she was about something as simple as telling someone that she had a bad dream it broke his heart. Along with the fact that she seemed to be horribly afraid of him also added to his worry.

From what Monica had told him she wasn't afraid of Joey or Ross, so why was she afraid of him he wondered. After he was sure that they were both asleep he got up and went to the kitchen to make himself a snack. He knew Monica wouldn't like it but he needed something right now. He made a sandwich and ate it all the while thinking 'Why was she afraid of him' it really did worry him.

'Maybe she was abused more than physically' he thought. He found himself shaking at that thought and decided to go back to bed and worry about all of this tomorrow. If he thought about it too much tonight he would cry. He went back to his room and saw both Elizabeth and Monica sleeping peacefully. He decided that for one night at least he would let them be and take the guest room. He went to bed for the night wondering what tomorrow would bring.

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	5. Reveling More Secrets

**AN: To be honest I have nothing new to say except thanks for everyone who reviewed and new chapter up next week.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Friends related**

Chapter 5: Reveling More Secrets

Monica woke up the next morning expecting Chandler to be lying next to her. Instead she found Elizabeth sleeping next to her and no Chandler in sight. She looked over at the time, eight a clock, Chandler wouldn't be up right now. Unless he had to work he was never up before nine. She then thought that maybe he had woken up and gone over to talk to Joey.

She was disturbed by her thoughts when she felt a little tug at her shirt. She looked over to see Elizabeth looking at her confused. "Where'd Chandler go?" Elizabeth asked she was afraid that Chandler didn't like her and left. When Monica didn't answer Elizabeth asked "Do you think he left because he doesn't like me?" a few tears came to Elizabeth's eyes right then.

"No he likes you I'm sure he just went over to talk to Joey or something" Monica answered trying to calm her down. When that seemed to work they both got out of bed. Monica noticed the guest room door was open and took a look inside. She found Chandler sleeping peacefully. "Why is Chandler in there?" Elizabeth asked, "I'm not sure but I'm guessing that one of us woke him up and he didn't want to bother us" Monica answered.

Elizabeth nodded her head that made sense to her. Closing the door Monica asked "So what was your bad dream about last night?" "I can't remember all I know is that some one was touching me" Elizabeth answered. Monica was ready to cry right then and there but she couldn't because that would confuse the little girl.

"Touching you how?" Monica asked trying to get a clear answer, "I don't remember" Elizabeth asked looking down at the ground. Monica knew that she wouldn't get a clearer answer than that today so changed the subject. "What do you want for breakfast?" Monica asked, "How about eggs" Elizabeth responded. "That sounds great, everyone else should be over soon" Monica told her and Elizabeth seemed to perk up at that.

As Monica began to cook the eggs Chandler came out of the guest room. When she saw him Elizabeth immediately clammed up and wouldn't look at Chandler. "So why'd you sleep in the guest room?" Monica asked, "Well I woke up, got something to eat, didn't feel like disturbing you, so I slept in the guest room" Chandler answered. "That's fine, eggs are for breakfast" Monica told him.

"Yummy" Chandler replied, he took a look over at Elizabeth, she still wouldn't look at him and he couldn't figure out why. "So Elizabeth how did you sleep last night?" Chandler asked trying to get some sort of conversation going between them. "Fine" she said without looking up, both Monica and Chandler frowned at this. Just then Ross, Rachel, and Emma walked in.

"Hey guys" Rachel said, "So how'd it go last night?" Rachel asked wondering how things had gone with Elizabeth and Chandler. Elizabeth meanwhile had gone over to look at Emma. "It went o.k." Monica answered uneasily hoping that they would get the message to drop it. Rachel must have gotten it and said "Good, so Chandler how's Tulsa" "It's about as boring as grass growing" Chandler said.

They all gave a little laugh "That's good" she said. "Monica do you have to work today?" Ross asked. Monica thought about it and said, "Yeah I do, they won't be happy if I take two days off in a row, I need one of you to watch Elizabeth" she said. Just then Phoebe and Joey walked in. "I'm sorry Mon, this is the first day I go back to work and Ross is working too, that's why I wanted to know if you could watch Emma" Rachel said.

"Joey, Phoebe, can either of you watch Emma and Elizabeth?" Monica asked. Both of them shook their heads "Sorry I have an audition" Joey said. "I can't either I have pervious engagements that I can't get out of today" Phoebe said in a cryptic tone. "Great Chandler you'll have to watch Elizabeth and Emma do you think you can handle that?" Rachel asked.

Elizabeth immediately tensed up at this she really didn't want to be alone with Chandler. "That's fine" Chandler said worrying how Elizabeth would feel about this, "Great, Emma should be napping most of the day and all you have to do is feed her, change her, and you should be fine" Rachel said not seeing the fear on Elizabeth's face. Monica gave Chandler an uneasy look but both of them knew that there was no way around this.

They continued to eat breakfast while Elizabeth tried to forget her worries by playing with Emma, even if she was a baby she was still kind of fun to play with. As she saw that everyone was finishing breakfast her worry began to rise, she knew that they would leave her alone soon with Chandler and that scared her so much that she started to shake.

Monica noticed this and took Elizabeth into her room to talk to her. "Elizabeth I know you don't like this and I wish someone else could watch you but no one else can" Monica said. "Can't you take me to work?" Elizabeth asked desperate, "I can't sweetie but I'll tell you what, you know how to use a phone right?" Monica asked. Elizabeth nodded she had used a phone many times; Monica grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "If anything happens just call me at this number and I'll be sure that you're safe" Monica said.

Monica handed the paper to Elizabeth, "Just call me if Chandler hurts you or begins to hurt you in any way" Monica said. Monica knew that Chandler would never do that but if it calmed Elizabeth down it was worth it. Elizabeth took the paper and hugged Monica. "You ready to go back out?" Monica asked, Elizabeth nodded in excitement. They went back outside holding hands both wondering how the day would go.

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	6. Chandler

**AN: "Somebody Save Me" is now complete. Hooray for me, anyway this will be a big Chandler chapter so this will not be just filler. Thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Friends**

Chapter 6: Chandler

After all had been said and Rachel gave her commandments on caring for her child everyone except Chandler, Elizabeth, and Emma had left. Elizabeth was scared out of her mind and was trying her best to hide it from Chandler, but she wasn't doing that good of a job.

Chandler couldn't understand what this little girl had been through to make her so afraid of him. He couldn't take too much time to think about it right now because he had to take care of Emma. Elizabeth had been sitting on the couch quietly watching T.V. she was afraid of making Chandler, so she decided not to move from that spot.

After about an hour Emma had settled down and went to sleep, meaning that Chandler had to take care of a little girl who was terrified of him. Sitting down on the couch next to her Chandler asked "So how are you doing?" it was a truthful question he was really interested in her.

All of a sudden she started to cry "I'm sorry, please no, don't hurt me" she began to shake and sob. Chandler was mentally slapping himself 'I shouldn't have sat down next to her' he was starting to panic when she wouldn't stop crying. "Elizabeth what's wrong, please I won't hurt you just tell me what's wrong" Chandler pleading with her to confide in him.

"Who's hurt you before?" he asked, Elizabeth looked up at him and all he saw in her deep green eyes was hurt and fear. When Elizabeth looked up at Chandler she expected to she him angry and ready to hurt her but instead she saw compassion and something she couldn't put her finger on, 'Maybe that's what worry looks like' she thought. For some reason she decided to trust him.

"There was this man, Mr. John, he kind of looked like you" Elizabeth began. Elizabeth really didn't know why she was trusting him, but he hadn't hurt her yet and maybe if she told him he wouldn't hurt her. "What did Mr. John do to you?" Chandler some how managed to get out, his brain knew what was coming but his heart just couldn't accept it yet.

"He w-would c-come in to my room at n-night" she sputtered out. Elizabeth began to cry and Chandler along with her. "H-he w-w-w-would touch m-me and someone else w-w-would watch" Elizabeth started breaking down. Chandler, a man who had barely cried in his life, began to cry. "He-he would t-take off his pants and then my clothes" Elizabeth stopped for a second to catch her breath.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want too" Chandler said interrupting her, but even at that statement Elizabeth wouldn't stop shaking. Then she did something completely unexpected she grasped on to Chandler for dear life. "Don't leave, protect me" she said. Chandler gave her a hug and she didn't try and squirm out or anything. They both sat there for the next five minutes before Emma started to cry.

Chandler got up and Elizabeth looked frightened. "Don't worry I just need to check Emma I'll be right back" Chandler reassured the little girl. Elizabeth couldn't believe that she just told her secret to someone. Mr. John had always said that if she told anyone that she would be in big trouble, but he couldn't hurt her now Chandler and Monica would protect her.

Chandler had gone to check on Emma with a lot on his mind. He couldn't believe that someone had done that to a sweet little girl. She really needed to see a doctor, not that she didn't need to see one before, but now because of the sexual abuse she really needed to be checked out to be sure that nothing was really wrong with her. After he had gotten Emma to settle down he went back into the living room.

He saw that Elizabeth had calmed downed so that she wasn't crying anymore. Chandler looked at the time and saw that it was about noon. "What do you want for lunch?" Chandler asked quietly, "Could I get some macaroni and cheese?" she asked nervously. "Well you're in luck because not only is Mac and cheese my favorite, it's also the only thing that I can cook without ruining" Chandler joked.

Elizabeth laughed a little, "Think it's funny do you, wait until you're being compared to a great chef" he said. "What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked perplexed, "What I mean is my wife is a great cook and while I am good I don't compare to Monica" he said. "She is good, probably better than you" Elizabeth said smiling. "Ouch" Chandler said feigning hurt.

Elizabeth thought for a second and decided that he wasn't serious and laughed. Chandler was nearly done making the macaroni and cheese when Elizabeth said "Are you going to tell Monica what I told you?" her voice was filled with fear. "Only if you want me to" Chandler said, "Please no, can it be our secret?" Elizabeth asked.

Chandler nodded and said "Yeah I promise I won't tell anyone else until you are ready to have them know" Elizabeth smiled. "Lunch is served" they both ate their food in relative silence all that had needed to be said had been. The rest of their day was spent watching Emma and T.V., during this time Elizabeth thought about how lucky she was.

She finally had people to care for her and who actually loved her. She didn't want to go back to her old life ever. She didn't want to see Mr. John ever again, she sat back and waited for Monica to come home she couldn't wait to tell her how well she and Chandler had gotten along today.

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	7. Rachel

**AN: Check out my new story "Do You Think I'm Fat?" out now. Thanks for all of the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Friends then I could buy nice things**

Chapter 7: Rachel

Everyone had come home to the apartment that night thinking that they would find a scared little girl hiding from Chandler. Instead they found Elizabeth sleeping on Chandler's lap while he lay asleep with Emma sleeping intently in her crib. The whole scene was heart warming, nobody could believe this. Not only had Chandler actually taken care of Emma but he had also gotten Elizabeth to apparently open up to him.

"Let's go over to Joey's and let them sleep" Phoebe whispered to everyone. As they were walking out Chandler began to stir, "W-what's going on?" he asked to no one unparticular. "Oh hey, how's what time is it?" Chandler asked as he slowly lifted Elizabeth's head off of his lap and gently put a pillow under it. "It's seven and how did you get her to do that?" Joey asked amazed that she had gone from hating him to apparently loving him in one afternoon flat.

"I'm not really sure we just kind of bonded" Chandler said, he was telling the truth he really wasn't sure how it happened. "Well that's great" Monica said, she was relieved that Elizabeth liked Chandler she was worried all day that she would get a call from her and when she hadn't she put that down as a good sign. Just then Elizabeth began to wake up "Chandler where are you?" she asked when she realized that he wasn't there with her.

"I'm right here sweetie" Chandler said going over to her. "Everyone else is home too" he said pointing over to everyone "That's good" was all that Elizabeth said. "They also brought home Chinese food" Chandler added. They spent the rest of the night eating, talking, and at about ten they all went to sleep.

Apparently talking about what had happened to her had really helped Elizabeth because she had no nightmares that night. The next morning Chandler had to go back to Tulsa, Elizabeth was sad to see him go but was happy that it would only be a about a week until she saw him again. Elizabeth wasn't sure who was going to watch her today so she just sat back quietly and waited to she who it would be.

"Sorry Mon, I have an acting audition so I can't watch her today" Joey said. "I'm busy too, I have some things to do" Phoebe said. "Ross, Rachel can one of you two watch her?" Monica asked she couldn't watch her because there was some critic coming in today to review her food. "Sorry Mon I can watch her tomorrow, that's my off day" Ross said. "Well at least we have tomorrow figured out" Monica mumbled.

Elizabeth didn't like this, she felt like she was being a bother and that was the last thing that she wanted to be. "I guess I could take her and Emma into work with me" Rachel said. "That's great, let's go, Elizabeth you get to see what Rachel's job is" Monica told her. Elizabeth didn't feel like going anywhere but she knew that she had no choice.

After arriving at work Rachel got Emma and Elizabeth all set up. "So what do you do exactly, I asked Chandler what he did and it involved something with numbers is that what you do?" Elizabeth asked. "I'm a buyer for Ralph Lauren" Rachel said with pride. "What does that mean?" Elizabeth asked, "It means I buy thinks for Ralph Lauren" "Who's Ralph Lauren?" Elizabeth asked. Rachel sighed she was hoping that she wouldn't have to deal with these questions for a couple of years.

"He's a really rich and famous clothing designer" Rachel said as she tried to work. "Why's he so rich and famous?" Elizabeth asked laughing, Rachel couldn't help but smile she knew that Elizabeth was just doing this to kind of annoy her and keep her busy. "Because he is a genius designer" Rachel responded.

Every once and a while Emma would stir or one of Rachel's bosses would come in and were surprised to see her baby and another girl with her. As long as Rachel was working though no one really cared since no one else could take care of them. The day went along slowly with few real surprises Elizabeth kept on asking pointless questions the whole day; Rachel didn't mind answering these questions since they were easy to answer.

By the end of the day Elizabeth knew almost everything about the fashion industry. Rachel did love this little girl, not more than her own daughter mind you, but she did feel a form of love for this little girl who was abandoned. Rachel had tried to pry into Elizabeth's personal life but didn't get much.

Anytime Rachel would ask a question about her personal life Elizabeth looked down and wouldn't respond. By mid-day Rachel had just stopped asking questions and Elizabeth seemed happier after they had lunch. Usually Rachel would have just had some noodles but with kids there she sent someone out to get burgers. They ate their burgers while Emma got crushed up carrots, "Why can't Emma eat burgers?" Elizabeth asked.

"Because Emma needs to grow up and be big and strong and this is the easiest way to do it because ten years from now she will refuse them" Rachel said. "I don't mind vegetables" Elizabeth said, "Well you're in the minority" Rachel said as she continued to feed Emma. The rest of their day was spent going over fashion numbers that Elizabeth found boring she tried to get to sleep but failed.

Eventually the day ended and Elizabeth was excited about getting back to Monica. "You may be happy about not coming here tomorrow but just wait until you spend time with Ross" Rachel said. "What do you mean?" "Do you like dinosaurs?" Rachel asked. Elizabeth's face brightened up and she said "Yes, I love them I read a book on them once but I wasn't able to read about them again" "Then never mind you'll love him" Rachel said glad that she wouldn't be bored tomorrow.

**Please Review **


	8. Ross

**AN: Thanks for the reviews. Good news I'm on Spring Break this week and I'm stuck at home all week meaning that you will actually get more updates this week as long as I get a decent number of reviews. **

**Disclaimer: In an alternate universe I may own Friends but if I do it still doesn't do me any good here**

Chapter 8: Ross

Ross and Rachel had been looking for a nanny forever but Rachel still couldn't find one that she trusted enough to leave with Emma. None of them seemed to work out meaning that Rachel had to leave Emma with someone. But now that Elizabeth was there she felt a little less guilty.

Today Elizabeth would be spending the day with Ross because he had nothing better to do. The plus being that Rachel could actually trust Ross with Emma she knew she would have to eventually hire a nanny but as long as Elizabeth was there she saw no reason to be too concerned. Rachel hadn't told Elizabeth too much about Ross since she wanted her to be surprised.

"You'll be spending the day with Ross" Monica said to her. "O.k." was all that Elizabeth said, she hadn't really talked to Ross that much so she was a little worried but she wasn't going to let it bother her. Monica noticed the Elizabeth looked worried "Don't worry as soon as Chandler comes back you can spend time with us again" Monica said. That made Elizabeth feel great she really wanted to spend time with Chandler again.

Ross came to pick her up a little while later, "Sorry about this but we all have jobs" Ross said. Elizabeth just nodded she was used to being moved around. "So what do you do?" Elizabeth asked, "I'm a professor of paleontology at NYU" "What does paleontology mean?" Elizabeth asked very confused. "Basically I study dinosaurs" Elizabeth gave him a look "Yes I know it's boring…" Ross began but then was stopped.

"You study dinosaurs that is the coolest thing in the world what can you teach about them?" Elizabeth asked so fast that it took Ross a second to decipher what she had said. "You really like dinosaurs?" Ross asked not used to hearing this kind of reaction outside of work. "Yes they're the coolest I read a book on them this one time and…" Ross stopped her. "Relax you're spending the whole day with me and I have a ton of stuff around my apartment that you can see" Ross said.

Ross loved the look of enthusiasm on Elizabeth's face as she was pulling him back to his apartment just so that she could learn something about dinosaurs. When they got back to the apartment Elizabeth was amazed at what she saw. She had expected maybe a couple of books or something else instead she found not only books but some fossils and models that she could look at.

"What do you know about dinosaurs?" Ross asked, "I don't know that much except a couple of types I always wanted to learn more but I never could" Elizabeth said sadly. "Why couldn't you" "My mommy said that learning about dead animals was useless but that isn't true is it?" Elizabeth asked hoping the answer would be that her mother had lied to her. "No it isn't true, anything you can learn is very, very useful" Ross told her looking at her straight in the eye. Elizabeth smiled from ear to ear "Can we start learning things now?" she asked. "Yeah let's get started.

A long time later Ross had given Elizabeth every little piece of information he knew about dinosaurs. He stopped after they got to the high school stuff, he didn't want to go into college level thinking because it would just confuse her. Elizabeth still wanted to learn more "Can't you teach me anything else?" she asked sadly. "I'm sorry but I've taught you everything that you need to know until college" Ross said as he was handling Emma.

"Well when can I go to college and learn about them?" Elizabeth asked, "In about ten years you can go" Ross said. "Ten years that's like forever!" "No it's not its like ten years" Ross responded. Elizabeth nodded in defeat, "So are you and Rachel married?" Elizabeth asked. "No we're not" Ross said, "Why?" "Because" "Because why?" she asked him again.

"Just because" Ross said again, "Well you guys have a baby and don't you have to be married to have a baby?" Elizabeth asked. "You don't have to be married to have a baby and Rachel and I have a very complicated relationship" Ross said. "Are you going to marry her?" "I'm not sure I want to but things just have to work themselves out before we can get married" Ross said.

"Monica's your sister right?" Elizabeth asked, "Here's a thought how about we stop this interrogation" Ross said. Elizabeth gave him a confused look for a second "Yes Monica's my sister" he said wondering where she was going with this. "Was she always _so_ pretty?" she asked, Ross froze for a second and thought. "Yes Monica was always pretty in her own way at certain times" he responded.

"What does that mean?" Elizabeth asked, "Never mind now let's watch some T.V." Ross said. Elizabeth got the message and didn't ask any more questions. They spent the rest of the day watching anything that they could find waiting for Monica to come over and pick her up. A little while later Monica came in to pick up Elizabeth. "Hey how was your day?" she asked.

"It was great Ross taught me about dinosaurs" Elizabeth said, "Well Ross you've finally found someone to listen to you" Monica said. "Come on Elizabeth let's go" "O.K." Elizabeth said hopping of the couch and to Monica. "So your day was good?" Monica asked as they walked home. "It was great Ross is so smart…" Elizabeth went on like that until they were back at the apartment.

**Please Review **


	9. Phoebe

**AN: I know I don't write a lot for Joey or Phoebe so the next two chapters will be pure Phoebe and Joey. I also know that the drama has been fairly low. That is going to end soon after I do a couple of personal chapters there will be a lot more drama. So just stay with me. Thanks for the reviews and I'm sorry that this chapter is a little bit late. **

**Disclaimer: Still broke so I don't own Friends**

Chapter 9: Phoebe

It was decided the next day that Phoebe would take Elizabeth for the day. Elizabeth was really looking forward to spending time with Phoebe. In her opinion Phoebe was very weird but she was also very nice. Elizabeth wasn't really sure what they were doing today but she was still very excited.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked as they left the apartment. "Well first we'll go down to Central Perk and then we'll find something to do" Phoebe replied. Elizabeth had only been to Central Perk once for a couple of minutes while Monica got coffee so she really didn't know what to think of the place.

"How long are we going to be there for?" Elizabeth asked, "For a half an hour at least, is that o.k.?" Phoebe asked. Elizabeth paused and then nodded she wasn't used to people asking her opinion on things. 'Before it was always just do it or else' Elizabeth thought to herself as she thought of her old life.

"What do you want?" Phoebe asked when they got to Central Perk. "I just want milk" Elizabeth said. After they were served Elizabeth started to ask some questions. "So where do you live?" "I live in an apartment a couple of blocks from here" Phoebe replied. "Where did you used to live?" Elizabeth asked getting bored.

"Well I used to live with my grandma but then she died and up until I met Monica I lived on the streets" Phoebe said. Elizabeth was shocked when she heard the last statement. "You used to live on the streets?" she asked being sure that she had heard right. "Yeah, after my parents left me I had no where else to go" Phoebe said.

Phoebe left out the part about the suicide figuring that would be a bit much for Elizabeth. "But you can't be from the streets you're way too nice and pretty" Elizabeth said. "Well it really did happen, I had no one to take me in and I didn't want to have to go to a foster home" Phoebe said.

"Will I have to go to a foster home?" Elizabeth asked scared, she had heard of them before and they never had good reviews. Phoebe paused for a second before answering. "I'm really not sure, there are a lot of things that have to be worked out" "Can I stay with Monica and Chandler?" Elizabeth asked her voiced filled with innocence.

"All of us will do our best to be sure that you can stay with them" Phoebe told her. Elizabeth seemed to calm down a little bit. "Who's that?" Elizabeth asked pointing to the man behind the counter. Phoebe looked over, "That's just Gunther" Phoebe said. "What does he do?" Elizabeth asked.

Phoebe smiled "He runs this place" "Do you know him?" Elizabeth asked. "Considering I come here almost every single day, yeah I do know him" Phoebe said. "Why is his hair that funny color?" Elizabeth asked. Phoebe blushed with embarrassment for a moment before saying "Don't make fun of other people" Elizabeth nodded.

After they left Central Perk Phoebe wasn't really sure where to go she wasn't used to taking care of kids. So she went with her instincts and took her back to her apartment. When they walked in Elizabeth noticed a guitar. "Do you play?" Elizabeth asked Phoebe, "Yes I do, do you want to here something?" she asked. Elizabeth nodded and Phoebe began to play.

After listening to Smelly Cat about 50 times Elizabeth knew all the lyrics by heart. "Where did you learn to play?" Elizabeth asked, "Well I kind of taught myself" Phoebe answered back. "Could you teach me to play?" Elizabeth asked, Phoebe was surprised "Yeah, I just need one hundred percent loyalty" "I can give you that" Elizabeth said very excited.

After teaching Elizabeth a few basic things Phoebe said "Let's get you back over to Monica" Elizabeth looked a little bit sad but was glad that she got to see Monica again. The walk back was very boring and uneventful except for the fact that Elizabeth was getting sleepy.

Eventually they did reach Monica's apartment. They walked into the apartment to find Monica waiting for them. "Has she eaten?" Monica asked. "No I didn't have the chance" Phoebe said. "That's o.k. I made some salmon for her anyway" Monica said. Elizabeth immediately didn't like this smelly fish on the table.

"Do I have to eat it?" Elizabeth asked. "Yes you have to or else you won't grow up to be big and strong" Monica said. Elizabeth grumbled but gave in and began to eat it. She really didn't know what to think of it the salmon was good but it wasn't the best thing that she had ever tasted that was saved for pizza.

After they finished dinner Elizabeth began a small interrogation of Monica. "When's Chandler coming home?" "A couple of days" Monica answered. "Have you talked to him?" Elizabeth asked as she walked on the couch. "First of all get off the couch" Elizabeth obeyed, "Second yes I have and he can't wait to see you" Monica told her.

That was a good enough answer for Elizabeth so she stopped asking questions. Elizabeth spent the rest of the night watching "Cartoon Network" and coloring in a coloring book that Monica had bought for her. After a little while she got tired yet again and went to bed, she was excited about tomorrow though, because tomorrow she would be spending the day with Joey.

**Please Review **


	10. Joey

**AN: Thanks for all of the reviews. I have some bad news, due to my grandma visiting, the SAT, and a trip out of town this may be my last update until April 15th. Yeah I know a long time away. I will try and get one more update up this weekend and maybe next week. But no promises so once again I am sorry and enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: On the advice of my lawyer I'll say that I don't own Friends **

Chapter 10: Joey

Elizabeth woke up the next morning with added excitement today she would be spending the day with Joey. Unlike the rest of the group Joey was the most like her in Elizabeth's opinion. Sure Ross loved dinosaurs but to Elizabeth, Joey still had that childhood innocence to him.

Elizabeth wasn't sure what she and Joey would be doing today but she was sure that it would be a fun game or something like that. "What do you want for breakfast?" Monica asked when she Elizabeth came out of her room. "I want Apple Jacks" Elizabeth said, "Really not something homemade?" Monica asked. "No I want Apple Jacks" Elizabeth said firmly Monica sighed in defeat and got her a bowl.

Elizabeth ate her breakfast in relative silence listening to all of the adult conversations. Even is she didn't get all of what they were saying she had a feeling that not too many of them were that important. Today they were talking about how Ross didn't want Emma to have a male nanny. Elizabeth couldn't think of a reason why it would matter so she just ignored the conversation.

A little while later Joey came in to pick up Elizabeth. "Just remember watch her at all times and stay off buses" Monica said. "It only happened once" Joey whined, Elizabeth looked at them confused. Monica noticed this "When Ross son, Ben, was a baby Joey and Chandler lost him on a bus" Monica explained.

Elizabeth laughed "How could you lose him on a bus?" she asked. "In my defense it could have happened to anyone" "You mean anyone looking to pick up girls?" Monica asked. Joey looked down "Let's just drop it" he said, "Fine just watch her and don't use her to pick up girls" Monica said leaving them to go to work.

"So what are we doing today?" Elizabeth asked excitedly. "Well I thought we would go and play in Central Park for a while and then what ever" Joey said. Elizabeth nodded she had only been to Central Park once or twice and she had never played. All she did was walk through and that was only because it was quicker than going around.

"Well let's get going" Joey said and they left the apartment, Joey with a tennis racket in hand. "What's the tennis racket for?" Elizabeth asked, "You'll see" Joey said. When they got to the park the first thing they did was play on the swings. Elizabeth hadn't expected to see Joey swing with her but there he was playing on the swings with her.

"Why are you playing on the swings?" Elizabeth asked no adult she had ever met would do that. "I really love the swings" Joey said then he fell off the swings. Elizabeth rushed over to see if he was alright. "Are you o.k.?" Elizabeth asked running up to him. "Yeah I'm fine you should have been there the time I was jumping on the bed" Joey said.

"Wait you were jumping on a bed?" Elizabeth asked. "Yeah, I fell off and my arm had to be in a sling" Joey replied. Elizabeth laughed "That's funny" she said, "Wait until it's you" Joey replied. After about ten more minutes on the swings Joey went to hit rocks with a tennis racket.

"Is that safe?" Elizabeth asked as Joey started hitting the rocks "Hasn't hurt me yet, just stand back" Joey said. "Would Monica allow this?" Elizabeth asked, "That's why we're not going to tell her this part because she would kill me" Joey replied "Just as long as I know that this is wrong" Elizabeth said right back.

After they got some lunch Joey ended up breaking the tennis racket they decided that they would go up to Joey's apartment. "How many tennis rackets do you go through in a month?" Elizabeth asked after seeing his latest display. "Well I go through a couple of my own and the rest I borrow from everyone else" Joey explained.

"Don't they get mad?" Elizabeth asked amazed that everyone puts up with this. "Yeah well we're friends and I do a lot of stuff to pay them back or I will once I get my big break" Joey explained as they worked their way up to the apartment. "Your big break?" Elizabeth asked confused.

"Well I'm an actor and that means my big movie, kind of like when I become really famous" Joey said sadly. "Don't worry you'll get it soon" Elizabeth said noticing that Joey looked kind of sad. "Yeah you're right" Joey said smiling, when they finally got back up to the apartment Joey sat down and rested.

"So what else do you want to do?" Joey asked Elizabeth. "How about we build a fort out of pillows" Elizabeth suggested. Joey smiled and said "Yeah let's" they spent the next couple minutes building up the fort they began to play in the fort. After a couple of hours Joey noticed the time "Let's clean up and get you back to Monica's" Joey said.

They cleaned up the fort and put most things back in there place so Joey wouldn't have to clean up later. He got Elizabeth back to Monica in time for dinner. After Elizabeth ate dinner she talked to Monica "So is Chandler coming home tomorrow?" Elizabeth asked hopefully. "Yes he is and you get to spend the day with me tomorrow" Monica said.

"What are we going to do?" Elizabeth asked. "Well Thanksgiving is coming up soon so I guess we'll go shopping for food" Monica said. "Alright" was all the Elizabeth said, she didn't want to say anything to Monica because she was afraid but she hated Thanksgiving and 'What kind of person hates Thanksgiving' Elizabeth asked herself.

**Please Review **


	11. Monica

**AN: Good news everyone I did find some spare time this weekend so I will have an update this week. Bad news is that you will have to wait until April 15th for the next one; I'm shutting down until then. Thanks for all the reviews if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't even be writing this. **

**Disclaimer: Don't sue me I really don't own Friends**

Chapter 11: Monica

Elizabeth woke up the next morning with a lot of excitement and a lot sorrow. Today Chandler was coming home but on the other hand they were also going to start shopping for Thanksgiving. She really did want to tell Monica that she hated Thanksgiving but she figured that if she said something Monica may not like her.

Elizabeth didn't want to risk making Monica mad for the first time in her life she was with people that cared about her. She sighed as she got out of bed she really didn't want to do this but she knew that she had to. Just then memories of a past Thanksgiving played in her head.

_Flashback _

"_WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE BRAT!" A man screamed._

"_I'm sorry" Elizabeth said in a small voice. _

_End Flashback_

Elizabeth started crying as she thought of past Thanksgivings, she would only remember a little at a time. Every time she thought of that Thanksgiving she just couldn't love the holiday. Tears threatened to overtake her but she just held them back and went out to have breakfast. Today Monica was making her eggs and toast.

"Morning Elizabeth" Monica said serving her eggs "Good morning" Elizabeth mumbled. "So today we're going to go Thanksgiving shopping and then we are going to spend the day here, Chandler's coming home at two today" Monica told her and Elizabeth nodded while staring intently at the ground.

A little while later Elizabeth and Monica had finished breakfast and they were ready to go to the store. "So what all do we need?" Elizabeth asked wondering if Monica did a traditional Thanksgiving or not. "Well we need cranberries, a turkey, potatoes, gravy, rolls, and a couple other ingredients for dessert, side dishes, and anything that you want" Monica said as they walked out of the apartment.

They spent the next hour in the market much to Elizabeth's dismay. She had never really liked grocery shopping and any time over ten minutes shopping to her was a waste of time. Elizabeth was glad when they were finally done she checked the time it was just about noon so that meant that Chandler would be home soon.

Monica started to put the groceries away. She had noticed that ever since last night Elizabeth wasn't acting like she had been. She couldn't quite place what was wrong with her so she decided to ask her. "Elizabeth is anything wrong?" Monica asked concerned about her. Elizabeth looked up at her with fear in her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong" Elizabeth said quickly a little too quickly for Monica. "Elizabeth please if something is wrong please just tell me" Monica said practically begging. "I can't" Elizabeth said now crying "Why?" Monica asked getting worried. "Because you'll hate me" Elizabeth said.

"I won't hate you please just tell me what's wrong" Monica said as Elizabeth was now sobbing. "T-the truth i-is th-that I hate Thanksgiving" Elizabeth said the last part quickly. She had expected Monica to start yelling or give a disapproving look but all she saw was understanding on Monica's face.

"Honey that's fine, Chandler hates Thanksgiving too" Monica said as she held Elizabeth close to her and started to soothe her. "Really?" Elizabeth asked not believing Monica or the love and affection that she was getting from her. Monica looked Elizabeth right in the eye and said "Yes, and if you don't want turkey you can have some of Chandler's chicken" Monica said.

Relief flooded over Elizabeth she couldn't believe that Monica was this understanding or that Chandler hated Thanksgiving. "Why does Chandler hate Thanksgiving?" Elizabeth asked in a small voice. Monica hesitated "Well his parents told him they were getting divorced on Thanksgiving" she said not giving her the adult version.

"What happened to you that was so bad?" Monica asked wondering why she would hate it this much. Sure Chandler hated Thanksgiving but never to the point of breaking down over it. "I can't tell you" Elizabeth said again in defiance Monica saw that and decided it would be best to drop it.

"Well o.k. but when you are ready please just tell me" Monica said, Elizabeth nodded knowing that she may never be ready but if she was she did want Monica to know. Elizabeth spent the next ten minutes in Monica's arms trying to calm down while Monica was comforting her.

Elizabeth couldn't believe how lucky she was for the first time in her life she knew that somebody really did care about her. Monica couldn't believe how hard of a life Elizabeth had. Sure her mother could be controlling at times and she didn't have the ideal childhood but at least she never had to go through what Elizabeth has.

A little while later Elizabeth was all cried out that's when they realized that it was one thirty. "Well let's start cleaning up a little while we wait" Monica said. "Monica" Elizabeth started, "Yes" Monica said, "Thank you for everything" Elizabeth said to her. Monica smiled and said "Don't worry about it" as she began cleaning up the apartment.

It was now two and both Monica and Elizabeth were waiting impatiently for Chandler to get home. "When will he be here?" Elizabeth asked "Soon" Monica replied. Just then Chandler walked in "Hey miss me?" he asked. Elizabeth ran up and hugged Chandler; once Chandler got over the initial shock he hugged her right back.

It was in that moment that Elizabeth for the first time in her life felt that maybe just maybe this is what it felt like to have a family. To her it was the best feeling in the world she never wanted to leave Monica and Chandler's.

**Please Review **


	12. Revelations

**AN: I'm back sorry for the long wait but I needed some personal time. Some bad news is that "Why Ross" will only be updated once this week. I just can't come up with a good way to end it. For fair warning this chapter has some abuse in it, but not that much. Thanks for all of the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I have never owned Friends **

Chapter 12: Revelations

"Will I ever have to leave here?" Elizabeth asked her voice filled with fear after Monica had broken her away from Chandler. Monica and Chandler looked at each other hesitantly "It's complicated, we want you to stay but it's up to the courts" Chandler answered. Elizabeth nodded, she knew a little bit about the courts from her parents.

"It all depends it your parents want you back" Monica added in. That immediately made Elizabeth fearful "I don't want to go back" she said as she started to cry. This caught Monica by surprise, Chandler had known some of what her life was like and wasn't as surprised by this latest revelation.

"What did they do?" Monica asked, she knew that Elizabeth had been abused but she didn't know how bad it was. Elizabeth looked down she didn't want to face them. "My mom didn't love me and I didn't have a dad" Elizabeth said softly. "Where was he?" Monica asked, "I never knew him, I just spent times with my mom's boyfriends" Elizabeth said as she started to sob.

Both Monica and Chandler had a feeling where this was going but they had to be sure, whoever did it deserved to be locked up. "What would your mom's boyfriends do to you?" Chandler asked. Elizabeth started to shake violently now but still continued "He would wake me up at night" she said.

"Then what would he do?" Monica asked trying to maintain her composure. "He would t-touch m-m-me in bad places" Elizabeth said as she broke down crying. Chandler pulled her into a hug while Monica remained speechless. She wished that it wasn't true but it was true and that just killed her.

Who would do that to this precious little girl? She had always wanted children and she and Chandler had been trying but didn't have one yet. Just the fact that someone would try to ruin this little girl's life was beyond her comprehension. 'What right does someone have to do that?' Monica asked herself as she let Elizabeth's words sink in.

'Why did I have to tell them?' Elizabeth asked herself, 'When I told mommy she didn't believe me, why should they?' she continually asked herself. 'Mommy beat me for a week straight saying I was trying to ruin her life' she thought. 'Why'd I have to go and ruin the best thing that's ever happened to me?' she thought to herself as she cried.

'If they are going to beat me I might as well get it over with' Elizabeth thought. "A-are you going to b-b-b-b-beat me now?" Elizabeth asked her voice filled with fear. Monica and Chandler were shocked by this, not only had she been sexually abuse but for saying something about it she had been beaten.

Chandler looked straight into Elizabeth's eyes all he saw was hurt and fear. "Listen to me we will never hurt you in anyway" Chandler said sternly but not so sternly that it would scare her. Elizabeth only nodded 'I hope he's telling the truth' she thought. "He's telling the truth" Monica added as if she could read Elizabeth's mind.

'How could anyone do that to this little girl?' Chandler asked himself as he is hugging Elizabeth trying to comfort her. 'No one should be able to do that to a little girl, I'll be sure that guy gets what's coming to him' Chandler thought to himself. "Do you still want me to live here?" Elizabeth asked in a small voice.

"Yes of course we do" Monica said, looking right at Elizabeth. "As long as we can keep you, you can stay here" Monica told her. "Do you still want to know about why I hate Thanksgiving?" Elizabeth asked feeling brave. "Only if you want to tell us about it" Chandler said. Elizabeth nodded yes that she did want to talk about it.

"Every Thanksgiving my mom would be nice to me so I always, used to like it" Elizabeth started. "She never beat me before that Thanksgiving" she added. "Then one year my mom had to go out and get some cranberries, so she left me alone with her newest boyfriend, Mr. John" Elizabeth took a deep breath before continuing.

"Before Thanksgiving I always used to like him, he would compliment me and it made me feel good" Elizabeth said as silent tears fell down her face. "Then he said he wanted to play a game and I said sure" she stopped for a second. "Then he started touching me, it felt weird but I didn't say anything" she continued.

Monica wanted to stop her but knew that this would help her in the long run. "Then he hit me, and started to touch himself in his 'special place'" Elizabeth said as she cried. "He stopped then my mom came home and I told her" she said. "She hit me, for telling lies, and yelled at me for ruining Thanksgiving, and after that Mr. John would visit me every night until you found me" she said to Monica.

"Why did your mom leave you there?" Monica asked figuring that she might as well get it all out now. "She told me to wait for her and that she would come back" Elizabeth answered. "Is that all she said?" Chandler asked, "Yes I thought she'd only be gone a couple of minutes but she was gone for half a day" Elizabeth said.

"How long was all this going on?" Chandler asked trying to figure out how long she'd been hurting for. "Since I was six, but Thanksgivings were always that worst" Elizabeth said. Elizabeth had stopped crying, she had nothing left in her. But for the first time in three years she finally felt like things would get better.

**Please Review **


	13. New News

**AN: Totally sorry about this delay, my bad. I've had a lot of homework and family issues that had to be worked out and I haven't had the time to write. "Do You Think I'm Fat?" and "Why Ross" will both be updated sometime this weekend just be patient. Thanks for all of the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Friends **

Chapter 13: New News

After Elizabeth went to bed Monica and Chandler started to talk. "How could someone do that to a little girl?" Monica asked not believing what she had just heard. "I don't know Mon, there just are some sick people in the world" Chandler replied. "Still it isn't right what happened to her" Monica said.

"I'm even more amazed that her own mother didn't believe her" Monica added. "I'm not" Chandler said, "Why aren't you?" Monica asked wondering what Chandler was thinking. "Well from the sounds of it she was unplanned, which means her mother could have been raped, so she never got over the fact that Elizabeth came from that" Chandler said.

"What are you a psychologist?" Monica asked playfully. "No, I'm just thinking of a reason why her mother might hate her" Chandler said, "Well my mother hated me" Monica said sadly. "Your mother doesn't hate you she just has a strange way of showing it" Chandler said trying to cheer Monica up.

After a couple of minutes of silence Monica spoke up "We have to adopt her" she said looking Chandler straight in the eye. Chandler sighed "Monica I know that you want to but it's going to be hard especially if her mother still wants custody of her" he said with no emotion in his voice.

"She shouldn't be allowed to have custody no mother should abandon her child" Monica said angrily. "I agree with you but there is nothing that we can do about it" Chandler said sadly. Monica was quiet for a second before Chandler said "The mother probably won't want custody though" Monica didn't exactly believe him but she didn't say anything.

Just then they heard some soft sobbing coming from the guest room. "Let's check that out" Chandler said and without a second thought they were both heading to the guest room. When they got there they found an Elizabeth having a horrible nightmare. "Should we wake her up?" Monica asked not sure what to do.

Without hesitation Chandler went to wake Elizabeth up. "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, it's alright wake up" Chandler said gently shaking her. After about a minute Elizabeth finally woke up crying. "I-I'm s-s-sorry" Elizabeth said quickly 'I can't believe I woke them up, now they'll punish me' Elizabeth thought as she closed her eyes and braced herself for a hit.

Chandler noticed this and said "Elizabeth I'm not going to hurt you" by now Elizabeth was shaking. "Elizabeth, honey we aren't going to hurt you" Monica said trying to soothe this hurt girl. Elizabeth finally opened her eyes and looked up at them. 'Maybe they won't hurt me' Elizabeth thought.

"Elizabeth I thought we were over this we're not going to hurt you" Chandler said calmly. "I know you're not going to hurt me I'm just afraid" Elizabeth said crying. "What are you afraid of?" Monica asked not really sure if she wanted to know. "I'm afraid that I'm go-going to do s-something w-wrong and you'll-you'll hate me" Elizabeth said quietly.

Monica and Chandler were shocked even after all this time she was still afraid that they would turn on her. "Elizabeth we're never going to hurt you now matter what" Chandler said firmly yet gently. Elizabeth didn't exactly believe him but was too tired to say anything else. "Can I go back to sleep?" she asked as she yawned. "Sure we'll see you in the morning" Monica said.

Once they were out of the room they started to talk. "We have to keep her" Monica said, "I agree with you but it's up to the courts" Chandler said. "Well I'll do everything in my power to be sure that she stays here" Monica said. "Do you really have to leave the day after tomorrow?" Monica asked changing the subject; she knew that he would say yes she just liked to ask it.

"No, I don't" Chandler said happily. Monica was shocked she hadn't expected that 'He can't be serious' she thought disbelievingly. "You're lying" she said after about a minute of silence. "Do you really think that I would lie about this?" Chandler asked with fake hurt in his voice. 'He wouldn't lie to me' Monica thought as excitement rose up in her.

"You really are telling the truth" Monica said happily. "Yes I am" Chandler said simply. "How did you manage it?" Monica asked wondering how he had gotten away from Tulsa. "Well I told them about our situation and they were more than happy to transfer me back" Chandler said happy with himself.

"That's amazing, Elizabeth should be happy when she finds out" Monica said. "She should I'm just happy to finally be home" Chandler said, "Have you told anyone else?" Monica asked. "What do you think?" Chandler asked rhetorically. "I know it's just unbelievable that this is happening" Monica said happily. "Let's go to bed" Chandler said.

As they started to walk to their room Monica stopped Chandler. "How about we celebrate your homecoming" Monica said seductively. "As long as we're quiet" Chandler whispered to her and they headed to their room to try and make their own baby.

**Please Review **


	14. New Problems

**AN: You guys have no idea how sorry I am. I know it's been weeks since I've updated. I've had some deep personal issues along with the end of school. Since its summer and most of these issues have been worked out I'll be able to update more often. Thanks for all the old reviews. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Friends yada yada yada. **

Chapter 14: New Problems

It had been about a month since Chandler had returned from Tulsa and things were going better. Thanksgiving had actually been good except for Joey dropping one of the pies. Elizabeth was opening up more and life seemed to be returning to some normality. One question still lingered though. The question about what would happen to Elizabeth. She really wanted to stay with Monica and Chandler.

Chandler had been talking to the police to see if they could get custody. Every time he called though he got the same answer "Until we can find a parent you can only be foster care" they all said. Neither Monica nor Chandler could see the logic in this but they couldn't do anything except follow the system.

"This is ridiculous, why can't we just adopt her?" Monica asked as she was getting ready for bed. She had tucked Elizabeth in about an hour ago. "Well they have to be sure that they are bad parents and not out looking for her" Chandler said. Monica frowned at this, both of them knew this was a weak answer but it was the only answer they had.

"Wasn't it enough that I found her and what she said?" Monica asked again. Chandler sighed, he didn't like Monica going on about this but he knew that it was good for her to let off some steam. "Listen how about we just go to sleep for the night and hope for something good tomorrow" Chandler suggested.

Monica nodded she knew that Chandler was right and that they had to be patient. The only downside was the Elizabeth was still scared that she would have to go back or that she couldn't stay with them. 'Elizabeth needs stability in her life' Monica thought as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was like most others Monica was up first to make breakfast. Chandler woke up a little bit later and after an hour everyone was there except for Elizabeth. "Hey guys where's Elizabeth?" Rachel asked as she fed Emma. Monica looked around "She must still be asleep, I'll check on her" she said as she walked into the guest room.

When Monica got into the guest room she was welcomed by the sight of a shaking Elizabeth. "Elizabeth are you alright?" Monica asked a little afraid. "Don't let him hurt me" Elizabeth said barely above a whisper. Monica was confused "Don't let who hurt you?" Monica asked. "The man in my dreams" Elizabeth cried.

"What man from your dreams?" Monica asked afraid of what she would say. "I don't want to say" Elizabeth said going into the fetal position. Monica didn't know what to do she wanted to reach out to this girl but wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. Suddenly it hit her, 'I should call a therapist' Monica thought as she walked out of the guest room to talk to Ross.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Chandler asked when Monica came out of the room. "She's still in there, Ross can I have the number of your old therapist?" Monica asked. "Sure, is this for Elizabeth?" Ross asked a little surprised. "Yeah, I think she's having bad nightmares and needs to talk to someone" Monica said.

The next day…

The Bings and Elizabeth were sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Barros. "Are you sure this guy is good?" Chandler asked Monica. "I'm sure, he seemed to help Ross" Monica responded. "Why are we here?" Elizabeth whined she just wanted to be at home. "Elizabeth you keep on having nightmares right?" Monica asked, Elizabeth nodded her head yes.

"Well this person should help make the nightmares go away" Monica explained slowly. Elizabeth thought for a second before saying "O.K." and went back to her magazine. After about another ten minutes the secretary let them into the room. "You must be Monica, Chandler, and Elizabeth" the seventy year old man said.

"It's nice to meet you" Monica said shaking his hand, Chandler did the same. "Now what brings you here today?" Dr. Barros asked. "Well about a month ago my wife was walking home and found Elizabeth, so she brought her home and has been living with us since, she has also had nightmares and we think that there is something more to them" Chandler explained.

"What kind of nightmares?" Dr. Barros asked taking notes. "Well she's told us that one of her moms old boyfriends used to touch her in 'bad places'" Chandler said. Dr. Barros nodded, "I would like to talk to Elizabeth in private please" he said. Monica seemed a little uneasy, "Don't worry I just want to talk to her without any distractions" he said.

Elizabeth seemed like she was about to have a nervous break down. 'I don't want them to leave' she thought. Chandler noticed her nervousness "Don't worry we'll be right on the other side of that door" he said as he and Monica walked out the door. "So Elizabeth tell me a little about yourself" Dr. Barros said in the nicest tone he had.

"Well I live with Monica and Chandler and they're really nice" Elizabeth said. Dr. Barros nodded, "So how about you tell me about your nightmares" he said. Elizabeth flinched when he motioned this and started to cry "No, you'll hit me" she said between sobs. Dr. Barros was a little surprised by this but still decided to move on. "Please I won't hit you just tell me about your dream" he said softly.

Elizabeth looked at him for a minute before she started "Well I'm alone, my mom is out somewhere, I'm lying down on the bed then _he_ comes in" she said taking a breath. "Then he takes off his pants and mine, then he holds down my arms, then he does something that makes my stomach hurt and makes me cry, then he gets up and hit me, and then I wake up" she said tears streaming down her face.

"I'm very proud of you for saying this" Dr. Barros said writing his final notes. "Are you going to tell Monica and Chandler about my dream?" Elizabeth asked fearfully. "I have to that is the only way that they can help you" he said sadly. "Please don't they'll be mad at me" Elizabeth said crying her eyes out.

"Why do you think that?" Dr. Barros asked carefully. Elizabeth thought for a moment before saying "When I told my old mom what he did she hit me" as she looked down at the ground. "Believe me Monica and Chandler won't hit or harm you in any way" Dr. Barros said firmly. Elizabeth thought for a second "You can tell them" she said her voice shaking.

Dr. Barros went to the door to let Monica and Chandler back in. "Elizabeth would you please go outside so we can talk" Dr. Barros said. Elizabeth paused for a moment before going to the waiting room. "So what's her dream about?" Monica asked as soon as Elizabeth walked out of the room.

"I'll be frank with you from the best that I can tell Elizabeth is dreaming about when she was raped by her mother's boyfriend" the doctor said. Monica gasped and started to cry she wasn't sure what she expected but it wasn't this. Chandler was furious he wanted to kill whoever had hurt that precious little girl. "I can tell you're unhappy about this but you have done the right thing bringing her to me" Dr. Barros said.

"Although I may not be able to stop the dreams from ever coming again I can help so that she may go months maybe years without having one" he said. "What's the best thing that we can do for her?" Chandler asked. "I want to see her once a week and I want you to support and talk to her, now go be with her and make an appointment on your way out" Dr. Barros said.

Elizabeth was looking at the ground when they came out 'I bet they hate me now and don't want to adopt me' she thought. Monica made the next appointment for next Thursday and they left. The drive back to the apartment went in relative silence. When they finally did arrive back at the apartment Monica said "Sit down on the couch we have to talk" Elizabeth felt her heart breaking 'This is where they say they're sending me to a foster home' Elizabeth thought as she began to cry.

**Please Review **


	15. I Love You

**AN: Sorry this update is a little bit late but I've been busy with applying to college's and Senior stuff that takes place in June. I'm still having writers block on my other stories so as soon as the wall is broken they will be updated. It has been brought to my attention that a social worker and not the police would most likely handle Elizabeth's case. So my bad and now on I'll have them calling a social worker. Thanks for all of the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Friends all your hopes and dreams would come true.**

Chapter 15: I Love You

Elizabeth started to sob, 'I'm going to be sent away, I shouldn't have said anything' she thought. Just then she felt arms wrap around her and looked up to see Monica hugging her. 'Why is she hugging me and not hitting me?' Elizabeth asked herself shocked that Monica didn't seem angry. "Elizabeth, Monica and I want you to know that you didn't do anything wrong" Chandler began.

'Now I know he's lying I did do something wrong' Elizabeth thought as she pushed herself away from Monica. "Your lying I did do something wrong!" Elizabeth screamed in between sobs. Chandler looked at a loss 'She really does believe that it's her fault' he thought as he looked to Monica. Monica looked down at this little girl and wasn't sure what to do to make her believe that what happened wasn't her fault.

"Elizabeth nothing that happened to you was your fault please try to understand" Monica pleaded to deaf ears. "Yes it was he said it was and that my mom wouldn't believe me and he was right about my mom" Elizabeth said her voice shaking. "What did your mom say when you told her?" Chandler asked, Monica looked up at him shocked.

'Why would he ask that question?' Monica thought. Elizabeth thought for a moment "Well, she called me a liar, hit me, and said that I was a horrible daughter" Elizabeth responded. 'I wish I could have been a better daughter then maybe mommy would have loved me' Elizabeth thought as she cried some more. "Did Monica or I say any of those things to you when we found out?" Chandler asked.

Elizabeth thought for a moment "No you didn't" she said softly. "So do you really think that Monica or I would blame you?" Chandler asked. "It doesn't matter you'll still put me in a foster home or abandon me somewhere" Elizabeth said crying a fresh set of tears. Monica's heart broke when she heard this 'She still can't accept that we love her' Monica thought.

"Elizabeth we would never send you away both Chandler and I love you too much to do that to you" Monica said. Elizabeth looked up at Monica in disbelief "You really love me?" she asked just above a whisper. Elizabeth couldn't believe it no one had ever said that they loved her before. "You really love me?" Elizabeth asked again just to be sure that she had heard right.

Monica nodded, "No one has told me that before" Elizabeth said quietly. Monica couldn't believe it 'No one has told this little girl she was loved before' she thought as tears welled up in her eyes. "Didn't your mom or anyone else ever tell you?" Chandler asked trying to keep his composure. "Only Mr. John and when he said it, it made me feel bad" Elizabeth explained.

"So you guys really don't hate me?" Elizabeth asked carefully hoping that they wouldn't change their minds. "Of course we don't hate you honey you did nothing wrong" Monica said softly. "I'm tired can I go to bed?" Elizabeth asked. "Of course you can" Chandler said as Elizabeth started walking to her room.

Once in her room Elizabeth began to cry. 'They really do love me but I don't deserve it' she thought. 'It's just like my mom said no one will ever love me' she thought. Then a voice in the back of her head reminded her 'They said they love' that was all she thought about before she went to sleep.

"We have to call the social worker tomorrow" Monica said after a while. Chandler nodded in agreement "They should allow Elizabeth to stay here" Chandler said. "But lets not get our hopes up just in case the same thing" Chandler added. Monica knew that Chandler was right even though they thought Elizabeth belonged here didn't mean the city would think the same thing.

"I can't believe her own mother never loved her" Chandler said. Monica nodded "My mom and I don't have the best relationship but at least she said she loved me" Monica said. "Same here even if my mom wasn't around I at least knew that she loved me but what kind of woman doesn't love her own daughter?" Chandler asked. Monica shrugged "Maybe she was raped and felt like she couldn't love her" she said.

"That's still not an excuse" Chandler said. Monica sighed, "You're right it's not but all we can do is hope that we can keep Elizabeth" Monica said. They sat in silence for a minute "I'm going to bed" Chandler said and he got up to go to the room. Monica sighed she knew that this was effecting Chandler a lot but she didn't know how to ease his pain.

Her thoughts quickly went back to Elizabeth. 'It's just unfair how come lousy people get kids all the time and Chandler and I have been trying for months and have nothing to show for it' she thought. Monica went to check on Elizabeth before she went to sleep. Elizabeth seemed to be sleeping easier 'Maybe things will turn out for the better' Monica thought as she left the room for the night.

**Please Review **


	16. The Best News In the World

**AN: I just realized that I forgot something. An eight year old would probably be going to school even through all the legal mess. So Elizabeth goes to a private school a couple blocks away. I updated "Why Ross". Thanks for all the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I only don't own Friends if you believe the lies at the copyright office**

Chapter 16: The Best News In the World

Unfortunately for everyone both Monica and Chandler had to work today. Only Rachel had the day off so instead of being able to talk more about Elizabeth's dreams would have to wait until later. Breakfast went in relative silence for Elizabeth; she only spoke when she was spoken to. Monica hadn't said too much to Rachel about Elizabeth's dreams. The only thing she said was the Elizabeth would probably be quiet for most of the day.

After breakfast Rachel took Elizabeth over to her apartment. "So Elizabeth is there anything that you want to do today?" Rachel asked. "Nothing" Elizabeth said in a sad quiet voice. "Well I'm sure we can find something to do here" Rachel said looking around the apartment. "Here we go" Rachel said cheerfully taking _Jurassic Park _out of its DVD case.

"Have you ever seen _Jurassic Park_?" Rachel asked putting it in the DVD player. "No, what's it about?" Elizabeth asked a little more interested. "Well it's about dinosaurs and happens to be one of Ross's favorite movies" Rachel said. "Can we watch it please?" Elizabeth asked as she was ready to bounce off the walls. "Sure" Rachel said as the movie started.

Rachel woke up a couple hours later to crying 'Must have fallen asleep' she thought to herself as she went to check up on Emma. Much to Rachel's surprise it wasn't Emma who was crying 'Then who… Elizabeth' Rachel thought as she ran back to the couch to check on Elizabeth. When she got there she found Elizabeth crying "No, please stop, it hurts" as she was shaking furiously.

"Elizabeth, honey, wake up" Rachel said gently as she tried softly shaking her. Just then Elizabeth woke with a fright and after taking in her surroundings curled up into a ball on the couch. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?" Rachel asked in a voice full of concern. The only answer that Rachel got was sobs from Elizabeth. "Please, talking about things helps sometimes" Rachel said.

"No it doesn't, the doctor said if I talked my dreams would go away and they haven't" Elizabeth said angrily as more tears fell from her face. "Well maybe talking to someone you love would help more" Rachel suggested. Elizabeth froze and thought for a moment, 'Maybe it would, but what if she gets mad' when Elizabeth thought that she felt a chill run down her spine.

'I should say something though because if I don't Rachel will get mad' Elizabeth thought. "I don't think it would help" she said sadly to Rachel. "Well o.k., but if you want to say something I'm here for you" Rachel said as she sat back down. 'I really should push her, but this seems like something she should tell Monica and Chandler' Rachel thought. After a little while Elizabeth calmed down and the rest of the afternoon was spent watching afternoon television.

After a while Rachel looked out the window and saw that Monica had finally come home. "Elizabeth, Monica's finally home so we can go back over there" Rachel said, all Elizabeth did was nod. Rachel got Emma ready to go and they headed out to Monica's. When they got to the apartment Elizabeth headed straight for her room without as much as a hello.

"Bad day?" Monica asked, "Kind of, Elizabeth fell asleep and she had that dream again and now I think she's afraid to fall asleep, I saw her nodding off a couple of times but she kept herself from falling asleep" Rachel said. Monica sighed; she wished that these dreams wouldn't happen any more. "Did she tell you anything?" Monica finally asked. Rachel shook her head no.

"Thanks, Rach" Monica said sighing. "What happened to her?" Rachel asked, "Well basically she's dreaming about her mom's boyfriend's abuse" Monica said plainly. Rachel was shocked for a second before recovering. "That's horrible" Rachel said. "Yeah it is, her therapist thinks that the more we talk the more it will help but she doesn't want to talk" Monica said her voice shaking.

"I mean we were making good strides, she finally felt loved" Monica said close to rambling. "I think you should take her back to that therapist and don't force her to talk" Rachel said. Monica nodded "That probably is the best idea, I just hate the thought of her going through pain" Monica said crying. Just then the telephone rang.

Monica got up to get it. "Hello" Monica said picking up the phone. "Hello Mrs. Bing this is Ana Camden with child services" the voice on the other side said. Monica felt butterflies in her stomach this could make or break her and Elizabeth. "Yes, what is this call concerning?" Monica asked nervously. "This is about Elizabeth Smith" Ana said.

"Yes, and what about her?" Monica asked, "This is concerning her adoption" Ana said. 'This could be good or bad' Monica thought. "A therapist called us today to tell us about her um… abuse" Ana choked out the last part. "With this new information we have decided to move ahead with your adoption of here, someone will come out tomorrow to see if you're capable of taking care of a child" Ana said.

Monica felt her heart soar 'YES!' she screamed in her mind. "Thank you and good-bye" Monica said, "Good-bye" Ana said hanging up. "Was it good news?" Rachel asked, "The best news I've ever heard" Monica said happily. "Does that mean what I think it means?" Rachel asked. "Yes, someone's coming tomorrow to see if we can adopt Elizabeth" Monica said.

**Please Review **


	17. Preparing

**AN: Sorry about the delay in for this chapter. I've started writing a new Gilmore Girls story "Broken Dreams" so if there are any Gilmore Girls fans out there check it out. I've also started using a new style of writing to make it easier to read. Thanks for all the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I have never heard of Friends, what is Friends.**

Chapter 17: Preparing

"That's great" Rachel said happily.

"I know I hope that Elizabeth will take it well" Monica said looking towards Elizabeth's room.

"When should I tell her?" Monica asked.

"I think that you should tell her right now" Rachel suggested.

"Yeah, I should I just wonder how she'll take it" Monica said nervously.

"I'm sure she'll take it well I mean she does love you guys" Rachel said as she went to check on Emma.

"I know but I'm just a little bit worried" Monica said.

"What are you worried about?" Rachel asked wondering if Monica was reconsidering the adoption now.

"I'm just worried that I'll fail her in some way, I mean she's eight and what if I mess up with her" Monica explained sitting down.

"Don't worry about it Mon, you've been prepared to be a mom since you were seven" Rachel said and Monica nodded. "I mean you should be worried about me not yourself" Rachel said.

"Thanks Rach I really needed that, and don't sell yourself short you're great with Emma" Monica said smiling.

"Thanks, and don't worry I'm sure you'll do great with her, now go and tell her about tomorrow" Rachel said shooing her off.

"Oh God it is tomorrow isn't it, so I'm going to have to clean and do other things" Monica said close to a rant.

"Mon, worry about cleaning later, first tell her" Rachel interrupted.

"Yeah, I'll do that" Monica said walking over to Elizabeth's room.

Monica knocked on the door. "Come in" Elizabeth said softly. Monica went in and over to her bed she could see that Elizabeth had been crying.

"What's wrong honey?" Monica asked pulling Elizabeth into a hug.

"I want these dreams to stop" Elizabeth cried.

"What was the last one about?" Monica asked the topic of adoption off her mind at the moment.

"It was the same one" Elizabeth said crying some more.

"Oh, honey don't worry they'll eventually go away" Monica said holding her gently. 'Why did something so bad have to happen to such a sweet girl?' Monica asked herself.

"They won't I know it and then you'll leave me…" Elizabeth said trailing off.

"Why do you think that Chandler and I will leave you?" Monica asked a little confused about why she'd think that.

"Because everyone leaves me" Elizabeth stated.

Monica felt her heart break she didn't want Elizabeth to think this. 'I have to convince her' Monica thought.

"Chandler and I won't leave you we both love you" Monica said.

"Prove it" Elizabeth said pulling away.

'It's now or never' Monica thought. "I just got of the phone with Child Services and as long as Chandler and I meet the necessary requirements we'll be your parents" Monica said looking her right in the eye.

"You're really going to adopt me?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

'I thought we had gotten past this' Monica thought.

"Yes we're really going to adopt you" Monica said firmly.

'Maybe they really do love me' Elizabeth thought for a minute.

"I'm tired can I go to bed?" Elizabeth asked with a yawn.

"You MAY go to bed and if you have any nightmares come and tell me it might help" Monica suggested.

"I will" Elizabeth said as she started to drift off.

Monica left the room with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she got out she noticed that Chandler was home.

"So is what Rachel says true?" Chandler asked.

"About the adoption, yeah it is" Monica said sadly.

This did not go unnoticed by Chandler "Why so sad?" he asked.

"Well Elizabeth is still very sad and doesn't trust us since her dreams started" Monica said sadly.

"Monica don't worry about it, she'll trust use eventually you just have to give it some time" Chandler explained to her the best he could.

"I know I'm just worried that she'll never truly trust use" Monica admitted.

"Just give her some time and she will come around" Chandler said.

"I guess you're right" Monica said.

"Good and I'm disappointed in you" Chandler said in a playful tone.

"Why did I disappoint you?" Monica asked playing along with Chandler.

"I would have thought that you would have scrubbed this entire apartment from head to toe already" Chandler said.

"What time is it?" Monica said in a panic as she looked over at the clock. The clock read that the time was 6:33.

"Damn, this means that I can only vacuum twice" Monica said in a disappointed tone.

"Don't worry this place will be clean enough the worst case I can think of I if Joey slept with her" Chandler said.

"What are the odds of that?" Monica asked as she started to clean.

"Knowing Joey I would say the odds are about 3 to 1" Chandler said.

"Don't even joke" Monica said seriously.

"I wasn't" Chandler replied. "Well I guess we need dinner so using my super powers I shall order us pizza" Chandler said picking up the phone.

"You shall, just be sure that we don't have extra I want only healthy food in the house" Monica said.

"Do you really think that they'll check what we eat?" Chandler asked dialing the number.

"You never know" Monica said in defensive mode.

The pizza arrived a little while later and they woke Elizabeth up. She wasn't happy about it but she still came out to eat.

Elizabeth barely ate anything. 'What if this doesn't work out' was all Elizabeth could think for the rest of the night.

"We have a big day tomorrow so you should get some sleep" Chandler said.

Elizabeth wasn't happy about it but complied and went to bed.

Monica spent the rest of the day cleaning because tomorrow Elizabeth's fate with them would be decided.

**Please Review **


	18. Adoption and Bad Dreams

**AN: I feel awful for not updating this story in so long but what can I say when Gilmore Girls fans come out and give you a good chance to get to 500 reviews every other story tends to lose its importance. Sorry about the delay and thanks to everyone who did review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Friends**

Chapter 18: Adoption and Bad Dreams

"Mon you've gone over the apartment enough times" Chandler said.

"I know but I'm nervous" Monica said.

"Don't be we'll be able to keep Elizabeth" Chandler reassured her.

"You're right" Monica said hugging him. Then there was a knock at the door.

"That must be her" Chandler said.

"I'll get it" Monica said as she went to open the door.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Bing I'm Stacy" she said shaking Monica and Chandler's hands.

"Nice to meet you" Monica said.

"Now if I understand correctly you wish to adopt Elizabeth" Stacy said.

"That's right" Chandler said.

"I just want to go over a few details with you, I'm sure you've gone over these before but I have to be sure you're not lying" Stacy said.

"We understand" Monica said.

"Great, now if I understand correctly you found Elizabeth on the streets and took her in?" Stacy asked.

"That's correct" Monica said.

"Could you tell me about her dreams?" Stacy asked.

"Well the best we can tell she's been sexually abused by one of her mom's old boyfriends and abused by her mom" Monica said.

"Alright that all checks out, I just need to ask you some personal questions and meet Elizabeth" Stacy said.

"That'll be fine" Chandler said.

"So why do you want to adopt Elizabeth?" Stacy asked.

"Because she needs a loving family and we both feel we can give that to her" Chandler said.

"What do you do for a living?" Stacy asked.

"I'm a chef and my husband is a Data-Processor" Monica said.

"I understand Elizabeth attends school around her" Stacy said.

"She does we enrolled her in a private school when we found out she'd be staying with us for a while" Chandler said.

"How does she seem to be doing?" Stacy asked.

"She's doing well but she doesn't seem to have many friends yet" Chandler said.

"That's common in abused children, now I'm going to have to talk with Elizabeth alone before anything can be finalized" Stacy said.

"She's in the room over there" Chandler said pointing to the guest room.

"I'll be done in about twenty minutes" Stacy said politely as she walked to the room to find Elizabeth reading.

"Hello Elizabeth I'm Stacy do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Stacy asked.

"It's alright" Elizabeth said.

"Could you please tell me how Monica found you?" Stacy asked.

"My mom told me to wait for her in an ally and then after about six hours Monica found me?" Elizabeth said.

"Did you want to go with her?" Stacy asked.

"Yes, because she seemed nice and safe" Elizabeth said.

"Do you like Monica and Chandler?" Stacy asked.

"I didn't like Chandler at first because he reminded me of my mom's old boyfriend, but I like him now and I've always liked Monica" Elizabeth answered.

"What was your life like before you came here?" Stacy asked knowing this question would be hard on her.

Elizabeth gulped; "It-it was b-bad" was all she could say.

Stacy nodded in understanding, "Overall are you happy here?" she asked.

"Yes I'm very happy, I don't get hit, I eat everyday, and I really do love Monica and Chandler" Elizabeth said very happy.

"Thank you Elizabeth you've been a big girl today" Stacy said as she left the room.

"So how'd it go?" Monica asked once she came out of the room.

"Overall I'd say very good I just need to relay this to my superiors and you should be the legal guardians of Elizabeth in about a week" Stacy said.

"Thank you so much" Chandler said.

"Off the record from what I've seen you'll make great parents" Stacy said before she left.

"Well do you want to go and tell Elizabeth?" Monica asked.

"Yeah let's tell her" Chandler said.

They both went into Elizabeth's room and found her reading.

"So what did Stacy say?" Elizabeth asked nervously knowing this could be her only chance at happiness for a while.

"She said that in a week we will be your legal guardians" Chandler said.

"That's great" Elizabeth said not really sure what else to say.

"What do you want for dinner?" Monica asked.

"Could you make chicken?" Elizabeth asked.

"Is roast o.k.?" Monica asked.

"Roast Chicken is fine" Elizabeth said.

After that Monica and Chandler left the room and it gave Elizabeth some time to think.

'They really do love me but will they change after they adopt me?' Elizabeth asked herself. Her biggest fear was that they would start ignoring her after all this was done.

'No they love you, they won't ignore you' her reason told her.

'But your real mom was supposed to love you' her fear told her.

This was all too much for Elizabeth to manage right now so she decided to take a nap since he didn't get that much sleep last night.

**Elizabeth's Dream**

Elizabeth was sitting around just reading and doing school work when Monica came into her room.

"Hello" Elizabeth said but she didn't get an answer back.

Monica stared taking all of her thinks out of the room leaving only her with a bed in the room.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked fear rising in her.

Monica didn't answer she just left the room.

Elizabeth was all alone in the room and very scared then Chandler came in to the room.

Chandler didn't say a word he just grabbed her and pinned her on the bed.

Elizabeth was so scared she didn't want this to happen again she closed her eyes wishing this was just a dream.

**End Dream**

The next thing she knew Monica was over her and her room was the same again.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"You were having a nightmare" Monica said.

"Oh" was the only thing that Elizabeth could think to say.

"What was it about?" Monica asked.

Elizabeth bit her lip, 'I shouldn't tell her she'd get mad at me' she thought.

"Please tell me, I won't get mad" Monica said.

Elizabeth thought this over for a minute, "I'll tell you" she said once she was sure that Monica wouldn't be mad at her.

**Please Review **


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